Just a little something quick...

Out to lunch today, I heard something strange on the radio. Not that anyone else found it weird, if I'm honest, but it was just one of those things which sticks in your mind...until you figure out why.

When it comes to prison's, is their a reason why there exists "minimum", "medium", and "maximum" versions, with regard to the level of security? I'll be frank, as a tax-paying, law-abiding (well, the ones that count anyway) citizen of this country, I'm quite fond of my incarcerated criminals being...well...stuck there. Which, to me, would have to fall under the bracket of "maximum security". "Maximum" in the sense that yes, you did something quite naughty, and yes, somebody saw. "Maximum" because you went to court and you were told that in fact what you did was bad enough for you to be separated from the rest of society for a while. An adult ‘naughty step’ if you will.

It makes me kinda nervous to think of the other two types of prison. "Medium" security is a vexing concept. I would have to guess its like the equivalent of needing to perilously find one’s way across a back garden guarded by the meanest Pitbull alive…on a leash. Like the opportunity for escape exists, but its probably not a good idea to try lest the beast get hold of you and sink its canines into your rump. This doesn’t really put me at as much ease as some, however. Seems as though this leaves an inviting gap for those criminals stupid, brave, or desperate enough to attempt a break out…and a fair chance of success. Undoubtedly, though, “minimum” security is the most troubling of the penitentiary triplets. I have scenes of a dusty old shed with a rickety door slightly off its hinges, the only criminals unable to escape being those with a broken spirit…or legs.

And this leads me to my conclusion. Broken bones. As a child, I found these the most informative and effective teachers. Climb a tree that you aren’t allowed…you fall and break a leg. Rocking on your chair at the dinner table gives you…a fractured arm. You take one stroll along the spine of the church roof on a Sunday morning and you slip and land on an old tree stump…luckily with your face breaking your fall, and a new nose for the rest of your life. So why not incorporate this corrective learning into the legal system. Don’t steal, or we might remove your fingers. Better not rape, cos it would be easy to mangle your genitalia. And if you kill someone’s brother…we’re sure you have a family too…you get the idea. Sure it’s a little Middle Eastern as far as keeping everyone playing by the same rules, but I bet it works. Just a thought.